Why this ride
A 133 km round trip from El Campello - roughly 2 h 30 in the saddle. On the way it passes Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi, Palmeral of Elche and back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de los mosquitos and Palmeral of Elche
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 133 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 30
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cueva de los mosquitos
Alicante is the city that everybody knows, but the hills behind it are the part you can have to yourself. This shelter lies in the dry interior north of the city, between El Campello on the coast and the towns of Mutxamel and San Juan, in a landscape of marl, pine and abandoned almond terraces. It is a long way from the seafront.
Read the complete Cueva de los mosquitos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los mosquitos is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi.
2. Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
The Carabassí is one of the last stretches of wild-ish coast between Alicante and Santa Pola: a line of dunes held together by pine and marram grass, a long beach, and the sea glittering under the flight path of Alicante airport. In the low rocky ground behind it lies a small cave known for painted marks, the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, close to the village of El Altet and a short hop from Santa Pola.
Read the complete Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi comes up 29 km in. Next is Palmeral of Elche.
3. Palmeral of Elche
Riding into Elche from the dry hills of southern Alicante, the sudden forest of date palms feels like a mistake of geography, as if a piece of North Africa had been set down in Spain. In a sense it was. The palm groves were laid out in their present form during the Islamic period, when Arab settlers brought an irrigation system of channels fed by the Vinalopó river and arranged the orchards in walled plots, with palms on the edges and crops beneath. Tens of thousands of palms remain today in and around the city, the largest palm grove in Europe, and the Palmeral was added to the UNESCO list in 2000.
Read the complete Palmeral of Elche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
58 km in you reach Palmeral of Elche. Next is back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi.
4. back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi, late in the day. Next is Cueva de los mosquitos.
5. Cueva de los mosquitos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de los mosquitos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cueva de los mosquitos. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cueva de los mosquitos to Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Cueva de los mosquitos → Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi to Palmeral of Elche
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi → Palmeral of Elche is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palmeral of Elche to back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Palmeral of Elche → back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi to Cueva de los mosquitos
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi → Cueva de los mosquitos is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.